Love Island star receives homophobic hate after explicit video leak

Love Island USAKendall Washington has responded to the homophobic hate sparked by a leaked NSFW video of him.

Although the American offshoot of the paralyzingly heterosexual dating show Love Island reached the end of season six on July 21, that wasn’t the only reason finalist Kendall Washington made headlines.

He finished in fourth place along with the other half of his couple, Nicole Jacky, but the internet quickly became much more familiar with Kendall than even 32 days into the Love Island USA namely because on the same day several very NSFW (Not Safe For Work) videos of the star were leaked on X (formerly known as Twitter).

After the clips surfaced, he was confronted with a flood of homophobic abuse, including assumptions about his sexuality, to which he was unable to respond as he was still in Love Island Villa.

But after getting his phone back after filming, Kendall sharply criticized the reaction.

“Guys what a way to get my phone back,” he wrote the following day (July 22). “I just want to address the content that has come to light from my past.”

“This was something I shared with someone in confidence and in confidence,” he continued. “It’s unfortunate that it’s no longer private, but it is what it is.”

Washington’s sister Taylor previously defended her brother when he was in the villa and marked Love Island She expressed the hope that a robust protection process had been put in place.

“I hope you all have provided serious psychological help for him so that he does not come out of the high of this experience and come back to the conclusion that he has been unfairly exposed in addition to the general reaction on reality TV,” she wrote.

“People’s (private) lives should remain private. The burden of this is too much for anyone and my heart aches immensely for him.”

This series of Love Island USA Also included The traitors Heartthrob Aaron Evans, who came under scrutiny in the villa for his sexuality, particularly his bromance with fellow contestant Rob Rausch.

The show has no great history with the LGBTQ+ community – neither in the US nor in the UK – and has failed to cast any queer characters, even though several candidates have since come out.

Amber Gill, who won the fifth season in 2019, has since come out as a lesbian, and Eve Gale is now with TOWIE‘s Demi Sims. Two years ago, Megan Barton-Hanson called for a queer season of the show.

Love Island USA is streaming on Peacock.